The Longcut: A SaaS Business Podcast Ryan Crispin Heneise

Episode 011: How to Build an MVP
Welcome, Episode 11 of the Longcut Podcast, where we're busy poking holes in the myth of the overnight success.
I'm your host Ryan, and today we're doing something a little bit different.
I don't have a guest today; instead, I thought it would be fun to talk about MVPs and let you in on some of the secrets that we use to successfully create brand-new web products.
I also want to give you an update on the podcast, because I'm going to be changing the format a little bit.
It turns out, making a podcast is really time-consuming. In the past couple of weeks, I've had a little bit of a hard time balancing my regular job, which is building MVPs with my agency Booster Stage, and landing new leads for the podcast, doing interviews, etc. all that goes into producing great content. I'm not going to lie, I got a little behind.
So, dear listeners, I hope you'll forgive me, but I'm going to take a couple of weeks sabbatical from the podcast to catch my breath.
When we come back, I'm thinking about doing a seasonal model, where we'll record a series of episodes around a particular topic affecting startups.
I'm also going to move to a biweekly publishing schedule, just to be kind to myself.
I'd love to know what you think about that, and if you have any thoughts on what kind of topics you'd like to hear about, email me at Ryan@thelongcut.fm.
Now, let's talk about how to create an MVP.
To read the whole article, head on over to https://boosterstage.net/articles/how-to-create-an-mvp/


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Takeaways: Sell Your Byproducts: Sometimes you have to operate a particular business for a while to recognize that a hole that exists in the market. If you're watching for it, you may realize that the hole is more valuable than the business you're actually operating. Don't be afraid of a big pivot. Spreedly started out as a subscription management service, similar to Stripe. Several years into it, they realized that what customers really wanted was a way to store credit cards in a PCI-compliant payment vault. They eventually decided to sell the subscription product, which had until then been their bread and butter. What are your customers telling you?  Your customers are talking to you; listen to what they have to say. It's tempting, especially for startup founders, to double down on what we perceive is the problem that needs to be solved. Instead, open up to the idea that you may be wrong, or that there may be something that you haven't thought of yet. Full shownotes: https://thelongcut.fm/nathaniel-talbott Links mentioned in this episode: Spreedly @ntalbott @spreedly

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Today on the Longcut we’re talking with Mason Hale. Mason is the founder of TeamTopia. TeamTopia’s flagship product is SwimTopia, which helps teams streamline and manage the logistics of running a swim team.
Proactively narrow down your niche audience. Many entrepreneurs have a product or service that they try to apply to as large of an audience as possible. Instead, niche down and narrow your focus - you can’t meet the needs of everyone, everywhere. You’ll be enabled to communicate and connect with your market in a way that is really hard to do if you're trying to do it all.
Charge your customers right away. Don’t have reservations about asking your customers to pay for your idea - build something that they will pay for, as is. If no one is willing to pay upfront for what you’re providing, it’s a critical sign that your business will not be self-sustaining in the long run.
Don't take failures personally. Business owners are wired to be emotionally attached to their enterprises. The kind of people who are attracted to the entrepreneurial life tend to be final decision makers - but not knowing how to disperse responsibility leads to hypersensitivity. Don’t let your identity get overly wrapped up in what you're doing, as these pride-laden mistakes hurt efficiency and the bottom line.
Links and resources mentioned in this episode. Swimtopia.com @masonhale Navigating the long, slow SaaS ramp of death

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Takeaways: What to look for in a venture accelerator. Much of the value in the top-tier programs—the most famous and sought-after accelerators like Y-Combinator and TechStars—has to do with the halo effect. You'll have contact and mentorship opportunities with people who can really help move your business forward. Second-tier programs can also offer a lot of value in the community. Beware of programs whose primary emphasis is on the mechanics and structure of the business process.
Entrepreneurship is a skill that can be learned. The post-industrial economy is here. Many corporate jobs are migrating to outsourced skilled labor. This is going to necessitate the learning of very diverse skillsets by self-employed people and entrepreneurs who are working increasingly in a decentralized and meshed economic environment. Full Shownotes: https://thelongcut.fm/kevin-koym Links mentioned in this episode: TechRanch Austin Venture Forth.co @TechRanch KevinKoym.com @kkoym Kevin Koym on LinkedIn Youtube is the modern day Gutenberg press

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Takeaways: Beware of entrepreneurial enthusiasm. It can definitely drive your momentum in the early days, but it can also be exhausting. Do ride the wave when you catch it. But channel that energy into creating a sustainable business that will continue beyond the initial wave of entrepreneurial enthusiasm. Younger entrepreneurs may have a longer wave to ride; as we get a little older, and especially once we begin a family, it’s important to balance our energy. It might be tempting to work 14-hour days for a while when you’re single and unattached, but it’s not ok to do that for very long when you have a family. That’s not to say that if you missed the wave of entrepreneurial enthusiasm in your youth, the opportunity is passed. Far from it: a recent study published by the Harvard Business Review found that the average age of a successful startup founder is 45. Build products that have a high value. Even though accounting software is the backbone of any business, Allan and Steve found that business owners, especially freelancers, who they targeted at first, were surprisingly price conscious about the cost of their accounting software. The problem, Allan thought, was that freelancers chronically undervalue their time. Since they didn’t have a healthy value on their time, they would have rathered spend 2 extra hours doing bookkeeping instead of paying $30/month for an easier solution.

There is no perfect business model. Every business involves work. Don't make the mistake of thinking that a SaaS business, or a marketing business, or some other business that’s marketed as “turnkey” is going to make you in a way that you don't have to work for it. The only perfect business model is one that lets you work your way out of your job. The goal of every founder should be to be a business owner, rather than an employee in the business. Full Shownotes: https://thelongcut.fm/allan-branch Links mentioned in this episode: LessEverything LessAccounting Ben Franklin Effect @AllanBranch on Twitter Our Little Warehome on the Lowes Home Improvement YouTube channel

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Takeaways: Whether you realize it or not, you’re modeling entrepreneurship to your kids. That’s a good thing. Brian was an entrepreneur before he knew he was an entrepreneur. His upbringing in many ways prepared him for a career of self-employment. For all you parents out there listening; take this lesson to heart: don’t be afraid to bring your kids into your confidence about your business. The lessons you’ll teach them just by watching you will change the way they see the world, and will probably inform their own career choices.

Entrepreneurial enthusiasm is the fuel that drives us. Brian experimented with several different businesses, and you can still hear his enthusiasm for those early wins. Small things, like getting his first customer, and earning his first $59 from his Wordpress theme, were like gas in his entrepreneurial engine.

Productized services can be easier to launch than SaaS products. A productized service is a service that you offered in a tightly defined package. There’s not a lot of variation in the process of what you do from one customer to another, although the outcome - whatever it is you deliver to the client - is unique to them. AudienceOps is a great example of a productized service: they provide custom content production. Although the content that they develop for each customer is unique, the process is the same, and so it can be done very efficiently. Brian was able to launch AudienceOps very quickly without having to build any infrastructure up front (that came later).

The only way to get it right is to get it wrong a whole bunch of times. You have to be willing to risk getting it wrong; otherwise, you’ll never start. Start something small, launch it, see what you learned, and then improve your approach for the next time. That’s how you work up the ladder to success. Full Shownotes: https://thelongcut.fm/brian-casel Links mentioned in this episode: Audience Ops Ops Calendar Big Snow Tiny Conf Bootstrapped Web Podcast Productize Podcast FounderCafe ProductizeAndScale.com

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